Tuesday, January 19, 2010

carrot soup

A couple weeks ago I received a promotional offer in the mail for a subscription to Bon Appetit. I tossed the offer, but kept the sample recipe card for carrot and tarragon soup. I finally got around to making it the other day, and it was so good I thought I'd share it on this cold and rainy day. I should note that I was not working with the pre-packaged 'classic cut and peeled' carrots called for in the recipe, so I think I may have been slightly over that 1 pound measure--making the soup a bit thicker. Also--I only had spiced brandy, so I used only a quarter cup of the orange juice and a quarter cup of water. The first night we had it, we thought it was just amazing. But, of course, last night, it was twice as good. The flavors had married thoroughly together and I had thinned the soup out a bit more with water--which improved the overall texture and balance of seasonings/flavors.

Chicken soup is on the stove for tonight. Cooking is therapeutic for me. This week it is keeping my mind occupied with something other than Haiti and the anniversary of my father's death. Much of my kitchen is stocked with pots and pans and utensils passed down from female kin and affines--like the big dutch oven in which I cook all our homemade soups. TH's mother bought it in France when she was there as a Fulbright student. In fact, she bought an entire set of cast-iron enamel cookware. It must have cost a fortune to ship it back here, but I'm really glad she did.